Get Ready for “What’s Next” — Succession Planning Process
Learn How to Thrive: A Family Business Review
Platinum Group’s wealth of experience addressing specific family owned business challenges includes four essential areas of support: family governance, leadership, succession planning and legacy. Our proven, six-step process helps families and their business to succeed by identifying concerns and questions, and by creating and implementing a successful strategy to address them. For more, see Vision For Success steps in more details.
Join our Owner Transition Forum to gain fresh perspectives from other family business owners’ experiences. These monthly breakfast roundtables offer insights and open dialog around real owner stories in a confidential setting.
Platinum Group’s Tom Hubler has written a book called The Soul of Family Business: A Practical Guide to Family Business Success and a Loving Family. It covers family values and vision, succession planning, the business of gratitude and more. Click here for more information.
Learn how to balance family owned business issues while loving your family.
Thriving Business, Loving Family
“How can I create more business value for my family business?”
“How do I transfer business ownership to the next generation?”
“How do I resolve conflict within our family business?”
These three questions often occur simultaneously or in rapid succession due to the unique nature and specific needs of every family owned business. Expectations, hopes and dreams can frequently clash among even the most loving family members, especially between the generations.
A family business does affect the entire family whether or not involved daily in the company. That’s why conflict can upset the balance of family relationships and, eventually, impact the bottom line. Decisions made about business succession, ownership, bonuses, profit sharing, and hiring family members can create bad feelings and years of undesired consequences.
For your family business to thrive, you may want to consider adding a specialist to your trusted advisor team who not only understands business growth strategies and business transition but also family business dynamics. Platinum Group’s team of family business consultants can guide you through ownership, leadership, succession and relationship issues. We’ve worked with hundreds of families to guide them through ownership transfer options, family business succession planning and conflict resolution. In fact, we recognize outstanding family businesses through the annual Minnesota Family Business Awards, created by Platinum’s Tom Hubler in 2008.
Successful Family Business Stories
- A large retailer was slowly losing sales due to new competition. The founder’s children had neither succession plan nor interest in operations. Yet family members received salaries simply because they were family. Lack of appropriate boundaries created family business conflict. Platinum Group helped this family business to gain financial oversight, new leadership and a succession plan. Within four months, the retailer regained profitability and opportunity for new growth.
- Rapid growth by acquisition and consolidation was driving a profitable, family business. The third-generation owners realized how increasing growth might impact family dynamics. We worked alongside a family business succession planning team of advisors to create a long-term estate succession plan. A family council was instrumental to sustain decision-making and accountability.
- The adult son who worked in the family business had changed the locks on the company doors and his father, the owner, finally realized he needed help with his father-son relationship. Long-standing resentments were hurting their families and the business. A family meeting and individual interviews uncovered a history of poor communications and substance abuse. We created an action plan to focus on better communications and the need for a formal succession plan, board of directors and outside advisory. Relationship healing led to reconciliation.
Read more family business stories to learn how it’s possible to balance business and family issues.